Money changes the size of an inconvenience before it changes anyone’s character.

What money mostly buys is a smaller version of the same problem. A missed train is a taxi for one person and a lost day’s pay for another; a broken boiler is a phone call or a month of cold. The difference shows up in the size of the consequence, not in patience, wisdom or decency, though it is easy to mistake a cushioned life for a calm temperament.

When someone copes better than you expected, ask what was absorbing the shock. When you cope well yourself, notice how much of that was cushion. It makes both admiration and self-judgment more accurate.